Cranberry Almond Coconut Granola Bars

I finally decided to go for it and make my own granola bars. Since starting school and work, I have spent four months of running between studio and workplace, and less time to eat. I think I've pretty much established that I love to eat.
these granola bars are from Baking Bites.com, which seemed like the best place to start in terms of searching for a recipe. These are also made up of things I adore like almonds, oats, coconut and dried cranberries. They require no baking because you just boil a syrup, and stir in all the "stuff" pour into a pan, pack it down, cool and cut into bars. They taste a bit like jazzed up rice krispie squares, they freeze well, and have been keeping me energized during some long school days. These granola bars also happen to be vegan, and if you swap the rice krispies for gluten free brown rice cereal they can even be made gluten free.
I stupidly made these to take to school for some friends, now I am bombarded with requests for them. What was I thinking?

Coconut, Almond Cranberry Granola Bars

Vegan

Time: 15 minutes, plus cooling time

2 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
1 1/2 cups puffed rice cereal
1/2 cup almond meal
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
1/2 cup sweetened, shredded coconut
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup dried cranberries

1. Line a 9×9″ square baking pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil, lightly greased.
2. In a large bowl, combine oats, rice krispies, almond meal, ground flaxseed and coconut.
3. In a small saucepan, combine corn syrup, brown sugar and vegetable oil. Bring to a boil, whisking to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract and salt. Pour into oat mixture and stir until dry ingredients are evenly moistened. At this point it should look something like unbaked granola. Stir in dried cranberries.
4. Pour mixture into prepared pan and press down into an even layer. Let stand until cool and set.
5. Cut into 16-20 bars with a sharp knife. Individually wrap in wax paper, if desired. Store in an airtight container.

From: Bakingbites.com

Apricot Almond Biscotti

Moving out of a house full of chocoholics has been a liberating experience for me (baking wise ) because it’s meant that I get to experiment with flavours and use a lot of ingredients that I like, but may not go over well at home.
One such example is dried fruits like the dried apricots in this recipe. I enjoy heir chewy tanginess in quick breads and muffins and they make an excellent addition to biscotti.
Whenever I bake anything with dried fruits and /or nuts I wish I could share them with my mom, even though she lives a few provinces away. So when she came to visit me this summer I knew I had to make these almond apricot biscotti especially since I have had this recipe bookmarked for a long time.
I made these so my mom would have a treat after her flight, since I find after the stress of airplane travel I always need a cookie.
This recipe is not as crunchy/crispy as your typical biscotti due to the milk in the batter. Even after the second round of baking they firmed up but did not harden, rather they had a texture similar to very crumbly shortbread. These are an excellent cookie to eat as is or to dunk into coffee. The cookies are studded with crunchy, slivered almonds and chewy, dried apricots and dipped into melted white chocolate to add a creamy counterpoint to the tangy apricots. The recipe comes from the Canadian Living Holiday Best magazine from 2005, but the original recipe used macadamia nuts. I used almonds instead because I prefer them, but any nut or dried fruit could be used as a substitute in this recipe.
The recipe was a definite hit with my mom (and me, of course).


Apricot Almond Biscotti

Adapted from: Canadian Living Holiday Best 2005

Dairy
Time: about 2 hours
Makes 30 -48 biscotti

• ½ cup butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup milk
• 2 teaspoons almond extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup almonds or macadamia nuts
• 2/3 cup dried apricots, chopped
• 12 oz white chocolate, melted

1.Line 2 rimless baking sheets with parchment paper or grease; set aside.
2.In a large bowl beat butter with sugar until fluffy; beat in eggs, milk and almond extract. In separate bowl, whisk together flour baking powder and salt; stir into butter mixture. Stir in nuts and apricots.
3.On lightly floured surface, form into four 2-inch logs. Place, 3-inches apart on prepared pans. Bake in top and bottom thirds of 350 degree F oven, rotating and switching pans halfway through, until light golden and firm, about 22 minutes. Let cool on pans for 10 minutes.
4.Transfer logs to cutting board. Using chef’s knife, cut diagonally into ½ inch wide slices. Stand slices upright, ½ inch apart on prepared pans; bake in top and bottom thirds of oven for about 10 minutes on each side, switching pans halfway through, until biscotti are dry. Transfer to rack; let cool. (careful to watch the biscotti—apricots burn)
5. Dip half of each biscotti into white chocolate; return to rack and let set.

To make ahead:
Layer between waxed paper in airtight container and store for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 weeks.)